Versal unfoldings of predator-prey systems with ratio-dependent functional response (Q994299)

The authors investigate predator-prey systems with a so-called ratio-dependent functional response, based on the Michaelis-Menten or Holling type II function, which may be transformed into an orbitally equivalent cubic vector field with three system parameters. While most papers on the subject analyse the dependence of the behavior on the change of these parameters, the present paper constructs the versal unfolding of the system near the equilibrium \((0,0)\) that has a zero matrix linearization, and whose degeneracy is shown to be generically of codimension two. Depending on the two unfolding parameters and the three system parameters, the resulting vector field possesses at most six equilibria in the closed first quadrant. The authors obtain a subdivision of the plane of unfolding parameters near the origin that distinguishes the different behavior of the flow. In this way, transcritical and Hopf bifurcation as well as bifurcation of periodic orbits and heteroclinic loops are shown to occur. Besides the existence of limit cycles, the authors also investigate their uniqueness utilizing a powerful criterion by C. Li and Z.-F. Zhang. Finally, a complete catalog of phase portraits illustrate the results obtained for small unfolding parameters and generic system parameters.